Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings

Cincinnati is now a
temporary home for Cate Blanchett (this year’s winner of the Best Actress Oscar
for Blue Jasmine), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Side Effects, Her), Sarah Paulson (The American
Horror Story anthology, 12 Years a
Slave) and Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of
Wall Street, Zero Dark Thirty,
the Friday Night Lights series) as
filming for Todd Haynes’ upcoming movie Carol
is in full swing! Some of the stars (and a giant movie crew) were spotted
filming at their first location, Eden Park, as well as along US 52 in New Richmond
and Spare Time Grill in Alexandria, Ky. The Enquirer’s Glenn Hartong was able
to catch a glimpse at Mara and Paulson looking straight out of the '50s filming a scene at the now-closed diner.
Photo: The Enquirer/Glenn Harton. See more photos here.
The film is based on is
based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel (published as both Carol and The Price of Salt) about Carol (Blanchett), a wife in a loveless
marriage on the brink of divorce who falls in love with a young woman, Therese
(Mara). The book was revolutionary at the time for portraying a lesbian
relationship, and doing so in a non-stereotypical light. Chandler will portray
the titular character’s husband while Paulson plays Abby, Carol’s best friend.
Filming continues this week
at a home on Grandin Avenue in Hyde Park. Retro Westside institution Maury’s Tiny
Cove will be closed April 1 for a day of
filming Blanchett and Mara’s characters’ first date. Cincy Magazine tweeted
that the Cincinnati Club, where the mag’s office is located, will also be used
to shoot the film at an unspecified date. We’ll keep an eye out — the building
is right across the street from CityBeat’s HQ. Search #carolmovie on Twitter
for the latest dish on the movie and its local filming and tweet us if you have
a run-in with any of the stars!
Even if Carol wasn’t filmed exclusively in
Cincinnati, the adaptation sounds like a great premise for a film.
Unfortunately the same can’t be said about most of the recent movies based on
books and other, previous movies. This week in remake fuckery, we have Rosemary’s Baby and The Birds — two classic ‘60s horror films undergoing contemporary
reworkings. Zoe Saldana will take on Mia Farrow’s iconic role in a
made-for-TV version of Rosemary coming
to NBC; Transformers director Michael
Bay is apparently producing the remake of
Hitchcock’s feathery flick. We can only guess that Bay will replace said birds
with laser-shooting Velociraptors.
Now and forever:
Speaking of dinosaurs, paleontologists
in Alaska last week discovered a miniature species of tyrannosaurs about half
the size of its close relative, the T. rex — essentially, what the prehistoric
Paris Hiltons were carrying around in their designer mammoth skin handbags.
Teacup-Rex!
A post I found recently on
Imgur (because Reddit still confuses/scares me) recalls the story of when the
United Way decided to release 1.5 million helium balloons into the air in
Cleveland in 1986, breaking the world record. The photos of the event are
stunning, but — as anyone with a tiny bit of foresight could tell you — the
mega-balloon launch totally backfired. Not only did this result in more than
1.5 million pieces of plastic trash around the region and as north as Ontario,
but also reportedly hindered a missing person search on Lake Erie.Peep this less dismal, totally ‘80s news segment about the
event:
Kermit the Frog rang in the
New York Stock Exchange Monday. Muppets
Most Wanted opens in theaters Friday.
Everyone’s talking about
“Strangers Kissing,” a viral video of 20 strangers making out for the first
time that’s actually (somehow) an ad for women’s clothing label Wren. A bit
contrived, I suppose, but definitely intriguing and pretty hot.
Jimmy Fallon put his own
twist on the vid…with puppies and kitties.

Jac's roundup of pop culture news and Internet findings

The Internet is a scary place, and anyone who’s browsed 4chan can attest
to that. But this creepy technological web can connect strangers and answer
questions, often with unexpected results. The latest example: Jenna Jameson
exchanged an unverified story and super sad, semi-nude pics for information
about her former agent who Jameson said turned out to be a con man and is sabotaging her
online presence. She was given the man’s phone number, address, social security
number, credit score an more private information within the hour. Cool?
David Lynch fans will likely recall the last episode of Twin Peaks, where Laura Palmer tells Agent
Cooper she’ll see him in 25 years. Peaks
took place in 1989, which means she was referring to this year — 2014. Hence,
Lynch is filming new episodes of the cult series, as evidenced by a Twin Peaks casting call.
It’s always exciting to see Cincinnati on the big screen — not just a
mention, but actual shots of the city. It’s certainly not the most exotic
locale, and many scenes of a Cincinnati-based movie could probably be
replicated in a Hollywood studio. So movies that do make the trip Midwest tend
to be very special to locals. Rain Man, Traffic and The Ides of March all brought a spotlight and stars to the Queen
City. Next up: Cate Blanchett and
Rooney Mara make their way to Cincinnati this spring to film Carol. Based on the Patricia Highsmith
book also known as The Price of
Salt, the movie will be set in 1950s New York City, but shot exclusively in
Cincinnati. Blanchett and Mara in vintage garb, traipsing around town?
Celeb-stalking will be in full force, #ClooneyWatch style. Read more here.
In case you missed it, Shia LaBoeuf has lost his damn mind. Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
Exhibit C.
But, due to my undying love of Louis Stevens, I still anticipate seeing his
wiener (again) in Nymphomaniac.
We’re a week into 2014 but, judging by the proliferation of “best of”
articles and continued obligatory year-end reflection posts on Facebook, it
appears most people are still in #RIP2013 mode — so we’re going to follow suit.
Now that our marathon New Year’s hangover has passed (and since awards season
doesn’t kick off until this week's People’s Choice Awards and Golden Globes), let’s look back at some of the highlights — and low points — of 2013.
The most photographed location on Instagram was a Bangkok mall; the most “popular” is this shot of Will Smith and the Biebs, with more
than 1.5 million likes.
A sacrifice to the Xenu gods? No such luck.
Moving on to Twitter, the most re-tweeted post was a somber one — Lea
Michele of Glee’s photo of herself with boyfriend Cory Monteith, who died of
a drug and alcohol overdose in July.
A close second was the announcement of actor Paul Walker’s death in
November. :(:(:(
OK, enough with the sads! The most illegally downloaded artist of the
year was Bruno Mars. Not sure whether that means he’s even more popular than his record sales show,
or if people are just really ashamed to buy a Burno Mars album. Either way, the
guy who penned, the exquisite phrase, “You
and me baby making love like gorillas,” will be performing at
halftime during next month’s Super Bowl. Good luck topping last year’s!
During awards shows and in end-of-the-year roundups, we often take a
moment to remember people that have passed away. Since just looking at that
Cory Monteith photo makes me want to sob and hide in a room full of Pug puppies and
body pillows, actual real humans are out of the question. So, as a variation of
this trend, let’s look back on some of the important TV characters we lost this
year. SPOILERS.
In Memoriam
Game of Thrones
After the main protagonist of Game
of Thrones, Ned Stark, was shockingly beheaded in the first season, audiences
quickly learned any character on the series could find themself chopping block
at any time. But who (besides, of course, those who’ve read A Storm of Swords) would expect Ned’s
widow and oldest son to join him so quickly — and in such a terrifying fashion? The episode “The Rains of Castamere” brought the
merciless death of Catelyn and Robb Stark plus Robb’s wife, Talisa, their
unborn baby and direwolf Grey Wind, in addition to at least a dozen others at the "Red
Wedding" alone. Earlier in the season, Ros — one of my favorite “working ladies”
on television — fell victim to the insufferable Joffrey. While she played a much
smaller role than the Starks, her death was heartbreaking and shocking. You’ll
all be missed!Boardwalk Empire
A Prohibition gangster drama is bound to rack up a serious body count. For
some of the historically-based characters, like Al Capone, viewers have a
pretty good idea about how long they will last. The fictional characters, however,
can meet their maker at any point. While I’m still not over Jimmy and Angela’s
demise, Boardwalk fully crushed my
heart by having Richard Harrow go out in a completely un-badass style. Harrow
was more than just a talented sniper with half a prosthetic face. He was a hero
in the show. He killed — a lot — but usually only the true bad guys, and often
to protect others. He was sensitive and strong, but slipped in his final
scenes, accidentally killing Chalky’s daughter instead of his target, Narcisse.
As soon as he missed the shot, I knew he was done for — Harrow, by definition,
always hits his mark! Sure enough, after a dream sequence in which Harrow
reunited with his family, we were jolted back to reality to find the wounded
war vet dying peacefully under the boardwalk. The show will go on, but won’t
have the same heart without him.Dexter
Oh, Debra. I never much cared for Dexter’s little sis — the phony fowl
mouth act just rubbed me the wrong way. But she definitely played an important
role in the series, especially once she found out about her brother’s “dark
passenger.” Dexter seriously declined
after its fourth season, and this final one was a doozy. But it still didn’t
prepare us for Deb’s death. After surviving a shot to the stomach, Deb appears
to be recovering at a hospital. While Dexter was busy chasing down his sister’s
shooter, Deb’s health turned for the worse, leaving her brain-dead. As a
hurricane hits Miami, sending the hospital staff into a frenzy, Dex is able to
pull the plug on his sister — sure she would not want to continue on in a
vegetative state at a hospital for the rest of her days — and takes her body on
his boat, to be whipped into the stormy sea. It seems like Deb and Dex died
together in the water, until we meet up with a bearded, lumberjack Dexter in
some mysterious woodsy locale, living in solitude. The fuh?
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead killed off a number of significant characters between the end of Season
Three and first half of Season Four this year. Andrea, who once shared a bed
with the Governor, ended up dead because of him. The Gov. hunted and captured
Andrea after she attempted to run away to her group at the prison. Trapped in a
torture chamber with the ticking time-zomb™ that was Milton, Andrea was unable
to protect herself from a deadly bite. Michonne made it to her BFF Andrea’s
side, only in time to put her down before she turned. And, after making an anticipated
return to the show, Merle also fell victim to the Governor. His brother, Daryl,
was tasked with killing zombie-Merle in a super-sad scene.
The Governor’s path of terror finally came to an end at the prison, but
not before he was able to take out Hershel (the closest thing the group had to
a doctor, not to mention Maggie and Beth’s father and the sweetest one-legged
man to make it in the apocalypse). The villain was finally taken down in a big
shoot-out between his group and Rick’s, which left all the survivors in
disarray. Also, baby Judith is MIA, probably in a zombie’s belly. :(Breaking Bad
I made up my mind early on that Walter White needed to die at the end of
Breaking Bad in order for the story to retain its authenticity. Walt got into
the meth business in order to pay for his medical costs and provide ample
support for his family if and when he succumbed to cancer. We all know he stuck
with the game for so long because, as he finally admitted in the finale, he
liked it. He was good at it. “I did it for me,” he tells Skyler in their final
scene. Most fans probably expected Walt to die, and he did so in a truly epic
fashion, while protecting Jesse. His brother-in-law Hank also went out like a
champ, after a brutal desert showdown. The saddest death of all was the end of
the show itself, but Breaking Bad will
surely stand the test of time as one of the greatest American dramas.
Homeland
Talk about a surprise ending! After breaking free from countless
near-death experiences, Nicholas Brody was captured and killed. Viewers got a taste of a Brody-less Homeland this season, as the character
was on the lam and not present in much of this season. But the show was so much
better with Brody in it — somehow, he balanced Carrie’s cray, despite the fact
that he was a damaged man who flipped every chance he got. This death gives the
show an opportunity to take a completely new route. Hopefully we’ll still check
in on his family (am I the only one who still cares about them?) but
we’re definitely going to have a little bit of Brody in the form of his child
with Carrie. How a fetus could survive the stress, cigs and booze she put it
through proves that this is definitely a Marine baby.

"Carol" to begin filming locally next spring

Cincinnati will serve as the backdrop for yet another film come spring
2014 as Director Todd Haynes shoots his upcoming film Carol around the city. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, the
film is based on the book (also known as The
Price of Salt) by Patricia Highsmith. While Carol takes place in 1950s New York City, the entire movie will be
shot in Cincinnati.
This locally filmed movie is another win for the Greater Cincinnati and
Northern Kentucky Film Commission, the organization that brought George Clooney,
Ryan Gosling and other stars to Cincinnati to shoot The Ides of March in early 2011. And while #ClooneyWatch may be
over now, there will be plenty of star-spotting when Carol production picks up next
year. And come to think of it, #RooneyWatch has a nice ring to it…
Director Todd Haynes’ past work include 1998’s Ziggy Stardust-inspired
glam Rock drama Velvet Goldmine and
the 2007 Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There —
which also starred Cate Blanchett.
Highsmith’s 1952 publication was a groundbreaking piece of fiction as it
deals with a lesbian romance, and the story bucked tradition in gay fiction by
giving the couple a positive ending. It’s safe to say Blanchette and Mara will
be portraying the lovers.
Follow GCNKFC for more updates on this and other films (including Emilio
Estevez’ upcoming horse racing film Johnny
Longshot, which begins shooting in Cincinnati next summer.)